Sooner Intel: OU news and nuggets

Bob Przybylo

01/15/2016

Intel is back with quick-hit news and notes on several OU targets heading into first visit weekend of 2016.

The Sooner Intel is an inside look into Oklahoma football and basketball recruiting and is solely for Sooners Illustrated subscribers. It is a sneak peek into what’s happening with OU recruiting and is not to be distributed anywhere else.

The recruiting games have begun

Now less than three weeks away from signing day, and OU is certainly not going all out with this first visit weekend. Still, as of now, the only confirmed visitor is Lawrenceville (Ga.) Archer offensive tackle E.J. Price.

Ranked in the Scout 300, sure feels like the Sooners have an uphill climb to get Price with Georgia seeming like the clear favorite. Even those who know Price best are never incredibly sure of his intentions so once you see Price in Norman, you’ll know he made it.

So OU is not bringing the house for official visits, but let’s look at some major targets who are visiting other schools.

*Houston Langham Creek wide receiver Quartney Davis, fresh off an in-home from OU on Thursday, is going to visit Oklahoma State next weekend. Ranked No. 81 in the Scout 100, Davis was officially offered by OU on Sunday and is expected to visit OU next weekend. He announced an official visit to Texas A&M, but the Aggies also earned a commitment from a four-star receiver on Thursday evening so no idea if that will alter his plans.

*Also heading to OSU will be OKC John Marshall offensive tackle Tramonda Moore. Said it for months now that this is going to be a pure Bedlam battle. If OU can survive this trip to Stillwater, the Sooners should have no problem sealing the deal with Moore. OU in a great spot heading into this weekend and OU will give him just something to think about with a visit of its own at school Friday.

*Florida State is the destination for Sachse (Texas) High cornerback Jared Mayden. Even though it feels like OU should be a player for the Scout 100 defensive back, sounds like it simply is never going to happen. OU would take Mayden if he decided to reach out, but it doesn’t appear like that will be the case.

*If things are officially over with OU and Ellenwood (Ga.) Cedar Grove linebacker Elysee Mbem-Bosse, then we should know this weekend. He’s expected to visit Florida, and it seems obvious like OU and Mbem-Bosse have backed off from each other. North Carolina State is also one to watch.

*Texas is the place to be this weekend. As of now, the Longhorns are expected to bring about 20 official visitors. Again, OU’s logic was to bring them in during games. Texas asked them all to wait. A lot of familiar names no longer OU targets like Brandon Jones, and Jeffery McCulloch, but a couple you need to circle.

*Euless (Texas) Trinity defensive lineman Chris Daniels, OU’s highest-ranked commit, is indeed making this trip to Austin. He said it’s about the respect his family has for Charlie Strong, and all you can do is wait it out. If Daniels is still feeling as high on OU as he is right now, the next two weeks shouldn’t be stressful. It will simply be about whether or not the Horns can sway him toward Austin after this visit.

*The other one to watch in Austin is Cibolo (Texas) Steele DE/OLB Mark Jackson. Still committed to Texas A&M, Jackson seems down to OU, Texas and the Aggies. The plan remains to get Jackson to campus the final weekend before signing day where OU has done one heck of a job in closing with top recruits. Jackson seems tailor-made for OU, but we’ll see how things progress after this weekend.

*Recent juco offer Jonathan Kongbo announced Thursday evening he’s ready to trim his list down to a few schools. The five-star prospect was offered by OU this week, and defensive line coach Diron Reynolds is doing all he can to convince him to take a trip to Norman. OU’s depth at defensive line might help here when factoring the academic work Kongbo still has to put in.

*Duncanville (Texas) High defensive lineman Marcel Southall will also be in Stillwater to check out the Cowboys. This is one of three visit weekends he’ll be using this month with trips to Miami next week and Ole Miss the week before signing day. OU is in driver’s seat for now, will it be in February?

*Lawrence (Kan.) High defensive end Amani Bledsoe made it official this week by telling Rivals he is down to OU and Kansas. After months of looking like a near lock for the Sooners, all the momentum is going with the hometown Jayhawks. All visits are in the books so it’s up to Bledsoe to when he wants to make his call.

*OU made its intentions known in a hurry Thursday with a trip to see Scranton (Pa.) Lackawanna CC linebacker Kapri Doucet. The one-time Arizona commit seems to be falling right into OU’s hands right now, especially after a call from Bob Stoops early in the week and now a visit from Tim Kish on Thursday. Doucet could be down to OU and Iowa State with his Sooners visit next weekend. Iowa State and Arizona both visited Doucet as well Thursday.